February 18, 2011 AT 12:11 am

Gallery: 10 Stunning Science Visualizations

All too often, the beauty of scientific knowledge gets trapped in monochrome graphs and jarring acronyms. The touch of talented artists, however, can set it free.

The 2010 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge released its top stunning entries today. They appear in the Feb. 18 issue of Science, which together with the National Science Foundation sponsored the event.

From GPS-tracked trash and nanoscale ripples to colliding quasars and hairy tomato seeds, dig into our favorite science visualizations in this gallery.